Donald Trump Might Crack Down On States That Have Legalized Marijuana
Donald Trump Might Crack Down On States That Have
Legalized Marijuana
Donald Trump Might Crack Down On States That Have Legalized Marijuana
AUTHOR: Rick Newman
Donald Trump says he has never smoked pot — and apparently he’s not a fan of people who do.
Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, suggested on
Thursday that the Trump administration could crack down on the 8 states
that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Spicer said the
Justice Dept. would be “further looking into” the question of whether to
enforce federal anti-marijuana laws more aggressively, and went on to
say, “I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it.”
That would be an abrupt change from the federal
policies of the last several years, and a big setback for the burgeoning
legal marijuana industry. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1
controlled substance, which means federal law prohibits its use. But
after Colorado and Washington declared recreational pot legal in 2012,
President Obama famously said, “we’ve got bigger fish to fry,” indicating that his administration would look the other way instead of enforcing the federal law, which preempts state law.
A marijuana farm in Colorado. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
Weed enthusiasts hoped Trump would be just as
chill. In 2015, Trump said the question of legalizing pot should be a “state issue, state-by-state,” which, essentially it has been. A January report from a publication called Marijuana Business Daily concluded that “we will see a continuation of some form of the status quo.”But the Trump administration has now signaled
for the first time that it may disrupt the status quo. And the chief
disrupter may not be Trump himself, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
who is a longtime foe of legal marijuana. During his confirmation
hearing in January, Sessions was noncommittal on the issue, leaving
himself open to either continuing the Obama policy or getting tougher.
“I won’t commit to never enforcing federal law,” he said, somewhat
elliptically.
White House Communications Director Sean Spicer holds the daily press
briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 23, 2017.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Spicer’s reference to “greater enforcement”
suggests the Trump administration is now forming a more coherent policy
on the issue. Legalized pot has grown into a $5 billion business, with
California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska, Massachusetts, Maine and the
District of Columbia also legalizing the drug for recreational use since 2012. Another 19 states allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Polls show 60% of Americans support the idea of legal marijuana, the highest level on record.Spicer did stipulate the importance of
medical marijuana, suggesting Trump would continue to allow that. Still,
Trump would be swimming against the tide if he cracked down on pot at
all, and the federal government probably doesn’t have the budget or
personpower to police pot on a dealer-by-dealer basis. But Trump is
shaping himself as a law-and-order president, and might figure it’s
important to win points with anti-drug purists, even if they’re a
minority.
If Trump
were to crack down on legal pot, it would certainly discourage
investment in an industry that’s evolving from a patchwork of pop-up
shops to a more regulated and professionalized sector with brands and
standards. Trump can’t close every pot boutique, but he can interfere
with funding, limit growth and just be a buzzkill. Maybe pot CEOs should
seek an invitation to the White House, to tell the president how they
feel about Washington interference in their business.
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